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Thursday, June 10, 2004

One of my favorite jokes...

I first heard this back in high school. You've probably heard it. Maybe not. Either way, it makes me laugh. And it goes a little something like this... hit it.

After Quasimodo's death, the archbishop of Notre Dame began accepting applications for a new bell ringer. Near the end of the first day of interviews, an armless man approached him and said that he was there to apply for the bell ringer's job. The archbishop was skeptical and told the man he did not see how he could possibly do the job with no arms. But the man was persistent and said, "Watch this." With that, the armless man got a running start and ran towards the bell, striking it with his head. He did it again. And again. The archbishop listened in amazement and was convinced that he had found a suitable replacement for Quasimodo. Then, on the fourth attempt, the armless man, now groggy, completely missed the bells, tripped, and plunged out the window of the tower, falling several stories to his death on the street below.

By the time the stunned archbishop reached the man's side, a crowd had gathered around the armless man's body. One of the onlookers saw the archbishop and asked, "Who is this man?"

"I don't know his name," the archibishop replied, "but his face rings a bell."

The following day, despite the sadness of the armless man's death weighing heavily on his heart, the archbishop faced the arduous task of continuing the interviews. The first man to approach him said, "Sir, I am the brother of the poor, armless man, who fell to his death from this tower yesterday. I ask that you would honor his life by allowing me to replace him as the bell ringer. Of course, the archbishop agreed to give him a try.

As the armless man's brother picked up a mallet to strike the first bell, he groaned loudly, clutched at his chest, and died. Two passersby, hearing the archbishop's cries of grief, rushed up the stairs. "What happened?" asked the first man. "Who is this man?"

"I don't know his name," sighed the archbishop, "but he's a dead ringer for his brother."

"How the time goes by. Suddenly you're wise. Another blink of an eye, sixty-seven is gone. The sun is gettin' high. We're movin' on..."

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